Deals with court decisions related to secular humanism in public schools. States that the major issues are: (1) whether or not secular humanism is a religion; and (2) whether or not it is being promoted in public schools. Relates implications of the court's apparent definition of secular as nonreligious, rather than anti-religious. (LS)

The two religion clauses of the First Amendment of the Constitution clearly declared the objectives of the framers, toleration and separation, but the means whereby these objectives were to be achieved were left to be decided through the dynamic processes of the courts. The history of these two clauses reveals that Americans are still seeking to…

Describes two federal court cases concerning objections to public school textbooks. In "Smith v. Board of School Commissioners of Mobile County," parents attempted to eliminate objectionable content from textbooks through the Establishment Clause. In "Mozert v. Hawkins County Public Schools," parents wanted to remove children…

This anthology is one of four collections of background readings on church-state issues that comprise "Church, State and the First Amendment: A North Carolina Dialogue." These anthologies are designed to provide primary materials through which North Carolinians can better understand the religion clause of the First Amendment. Volume 4 of…

Drawing on the writings of scholars in the field, this report presents the case for increased parental control over the education of children. It begins by maintaining that the American public school has fallen from favor mainly because of a decline in academic achievement and the replacement of the teaching of basic skills with social…